Tehran: Iranian student Reza Parastesh looks so much like his hero Lionel Messi that it almost landed him in jail for disrupting public order this week.
So many people came out to take selfies with Parastesh in the western city of Hamedan over the weekend that police rushed him into a station and impounded his car to stop the chaos and clear traffic.
The resemblance is so uncanny that Eurosport UK reportedly used his photo by accident on Twitter recently when talking about the real Messi.
The furore began a few months ago when Parastesh's football-mad father pressured the 25-year-old into posing in a No. 10 Barcelona jersey and sending the pictures to a sports website.
"I sent them one night and by the morning they had called me and said I should come in quickly for an interview," he said.
Despite his early reluctance, Parastesh soon grew into his new role, cutting his hair like Messi and often donning the Barca jersey when he goes out.
It has paid off - he is fully booked with media interviews and has even landed modelling contracts.
"Now people really see me as the Iranian Messi and want me to mimic everything he does. When I show up somewhere, people are really shocked," he said.
Iranians are obsessed with football, and Parastesh finds himself constantly besieged by fans looking for a selfie.
"I'm really happy that seeing me makes them happy and this happiness gives me a lot of energy," he added.
Parastesh loves football but has never played professionally, though he is working on some tricks so he can better play the role.
He remembers very well the last game between Iran and Argentina during World Cup 2014, when Messi's 91st-minute goal robbed the Islamic republic of a place in the last 16.
Reza's dad was furious. "After the game, my dad called me and said don't come back home tonight... why did you score a goal against Iran? I said: But that wasn't me!" Parastesh said, laughing.
His goal now is to meet his hero in Barcelona, and maybe even land a job as his understudy. "Being the best player in footballing history, he definitely has more work than he can handle. I could be his representative when he is too busy," he said.
However, a report in The Sun spoke about another doppelganger who emerged just a week ago working in a Brazilian sweet shop.
The Brazilian's image went viral after his friend posted a snap of him on Twitter. Alejandro Pereira Negreiros admitted he did not know too much about Nou Camp icon, but now wanted to meet Messi after shooting to stardom on social media.
The Sao Paulo resident's friend posted snaps of his friend on Twitter, and they soon went viral leading to locals to flock to the candy store he worked in to see the likeness for themselves.
Meanwhile, Messi's double against Villarreal at the weekend has seen the Barcelona star close in on the European Golden Shoe award.
The Argentine forward has struck 35 times in La Liga so far, four clear of his nearest contender Bas Dost - who has netted 31 for Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese top flight.
Should Messi stay clear of Dost, he will secure the Golden Shoe award for the fourth time - having also won it in 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13 - and would move level with Cristiano Ronaldo as the player to have won it on the most occasions.
Ronaldo won it for the first time in 2007-08 with Manchester United, and has since won it three more times since moving to Real Madrid (in 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15). He is, however, not in contention this year as he has struck just 20 league goals. The award has been won by a La Liga player every year since Diego Forlan won it for Atletico in 2008-09, although Luis Suarez shared the prize for the Premier League with Ronaldo in 2013-14 during his final season at Liverpool.
Henrik Larsson was the last player to win the Golden Shoe from outside the top five leagues, when his 35 goals for Celtic in 2000-01 saw him top the rankings with 52.5 points.
(Agencies)
